The Jaws
by thumbledoor
Summary: What would you do if you woke up in the body of a titan? faced with your own mortality and having no other choice than to pick a side and fight with everything you had, because this world is just that cruel. (Contains Manga Spoilers)
1. Chapter 1

An almost uncomfortable heat was the first thing I noticed as I slowly woke up and confusion was the only thing I could feel as I tried to stretch my body but found that something was constricting my movements, something fleshly was wrapped tightly around me like a cocoon. Opening my eyes, I saw that instead of being inside my room I was inside of something that resembled a body, the pieces of flesh like substance were covering my arms, legs, back, chest, even my face and it felt like the tendrils were connected to me, like they were fused with my own skin. Confused, distressed and claustrophobic I violently jerked my body back and away from the fleshy wrappings in an attempt to pull myself free.

As if responding to my distress and intense desire to escape, the red tissue loosened and gave way. I was not expecting this and ended up catapulting myself upwards and out of whatever was previously holding me.

With a hiss and a feeling of something tearing I broke my upper body away from the tissue and found myself face to face with the sun and sky, I relished the feeling of cold air against hot steam. Then my lower body gave way too, the flesh surrounding my legs snapped and I slid forwards onto my face with a soft thud.

"owww" I groaned out before I slowly rolled to the side, off the body and onto solid ground.

Righting myself into a sitting position I looked to my right, towards the sound of hissing and steam only to gape at the thing in front of me.

It was large and almost humanoid in appearance, except for its hardened face and defined claws, which seemed to be made of some kind of external, bone-like substance. Its face had the same kind of armored shell over it, giving it the appearance of a faceplate. Its hair was long and brown just like mine, the only difference was the beard it sported. But I still recognized it, not its current appearance but it was similar to the one I had seen in the pages of a manga.

The Jaw Titan.

'_That's not right'_ I thought, placing a hand on my head. _'Ymir should have Jaws, or Marcel should' _I had read the story and watched the anime, so I knew that much at least. _'unless' _my eyes widened, panic flaring for a moment as I looked around for any titans only to see an open plain of nothing but grass and trees in the distance.

When I saw no evidence of titans I relaxed, _'this doesn't make sense' _I told myself _'how did I get here? why did I emerge from the jaw titan?'_

One of the nine titan powers featured in the Attack on Titan series and I had just emerged from its nape. _'which means'_ I realized, quickly connecting the dots and realizing that I had eaten someone.

I felt disgusted by myself, the mere thought of eating a human forced me to swallow down the bile threatening to spill out of my mouth in favor of standing up and checking myself over. Wounds shouldn't be a problem for me since they'll heal, what I was worried about was clothing and thankfully it seemed like I was wearing clothes.

My brown Hiking boots, Black Cargo pants and Leather aviator jacket were all still intact and appeared to be completely undamaged which was surprising considering the condition people were often left in when they first emerge from a nape. What was even more surprising was that I was still carrying my sling bag. _'well then. What should I do ne- '_"Argh!" I suddenly screamed in pain, unable to think anymore as I immediately felt a sharp, horrifying pain jolt through my jaw and into my molar tooth. Dropping to my stomach I started screaming into the grass as I felt something being pushed out of my tooth.

After what seemed like ages, I finally felt something being moved onto the side of my mouth just as the pain stopped, immediately I spat the object out onto my hand. It was small and metallic, "a filling?" I said completely bewildered at what I was holding in my palm. Sticking a finger into my mouth I checked the tooth that would have had the filling and there wasn't a hole like I was expecting but instead, there was a normal, fully grown tooth without any damage "did I seriously heal a tooth?" I asked myself before looking back at the titan body which had almost completely evaporated.

If I had any doubts about whether or not any of this was actually happening, they were dispelled as I looked at the filling in my hand.

I stood up slowly, anxious to see if any more of my body parts were going to start healing but when nothing happened, I relaxed and started patting myself down, checking my pockets for anything useful but I didn't have anything in them, my phone, my wallet, my keys, all of them were gone "oh great, so I was mugged too" I said sliding the bag off my shoulder and checking it for anything useful but only finding my schoolbooks and utensils, I quickly began throwing everything out that wasn't necessary to my own survival, textbooks mostly but I still kept my notebook and pencils. Something I was given as I gift and having something like that would be useful. While looking through my bag I saw my scissors and carefully picked them up. _'seriously?' _I thought to myself _'am I actually considering this? Hurting myself?' _I knew that it would be something I would need to do at some point and cutting my palm with some scissors was better than eating my hand like a maniac.

But the first order of business was getting to safety and out of titan territory, which meant that I would need to make it to the wall before it was breached, and it if was already breached then I would need to go further in until I found safety. Opening the scissors, I placed the bladed edge to my palm and thought of a goal: Reach the wall, hopefully, that was enough to spark a transformation.

"AAAAAGH!" I was about to make the wound when I heard a scream that sent a chill up my spine as I was suddenly bombarded with someone else's memories.

* * *

_Sitting on a carriage, Annie on my left, her expression as neutral as ever and Reiner on my right, waving to the crowd of cheering people. Bertolt was waving too but he seemed just as awkward as Reiner, I was just sitting there letting Reiner and Bertolt wave while I looked stoic. I felt proud, proud that I could do my duty and go one step closer to destroying the devils on Paradis, and I was happy that my brother wouldn't be cursed as well. But that meant I had to offer Reiner up as a replacement. _

_Sitting in front of a campfire with Reiner, Bertolt and Annie. Guilt and shame digging into my heart as I looked down towards the flames sadly, with tears in my eyes "Reiner… I'm sorry"._

* * *

I gasped as I jolted forwards, coming back to reality as I was immediately able to recognize the scream. "Reiner!" I shouted in terror once I processed just how horrified the scream sounded. I turned on my heel in the direction of the voice, but I turned to quickly, causing the blade to run down my hand with enough pressure to break the skin. I looked down at my cut hand for a moment, the sudden goal of finding Reiner, fuelled by the memories of the person I had devoured was just enough to spark a transformation.

I felt myself get hit by something, an enormous amount of energy supercharged my body as new flesh, tissue and bone were instantly generated and wrapped around me, forming a body and engulfing my human form as I felt flesh hit my cheeks and burn themselves into place. Opening my eyes once the transformation stopped, I noticed that seeing through my titan form was like looking through a screen of sorts while at the same time I could feel everything my titan body had felt. Like the muscle tendons attached to my body were acting as some kind of signal interceptors, giving me control of the body I created.

But most importantly, I was in control.

Testing the waters, I started moving around, first I moved my new shoulders and flexed my hands and took a few steps before moving around with more gusto and enthusiasm. I began running on all fours towards where I heard Reiner scream. It was like everything I was doing was second nature to me, how I ran and how I operated my titan body felt like I had been doing it for ages, years even not only that but I was moving with more speed than I actually expected, it was comparable to a horse or car.

Acting on the priority of finding Reiner I kept running until I found a lonely looking hill, a single tree at the top and it was a place I recognized from the manga, it was where Reiner had stopped running in the manga.

wrenching myself free from the muscle attached to my face and body I disconnected the flesh from my titan with more finesse and speed than before, making sure to exit it before I started to feel too tired to transform again. I had no interest in being caught out in Titan territory without a way to escape.

With the titan body positioned low to the ground I was able to slide off it without much trouble, it was the benefit of possessing such a small sized titan. Making my way to the tree where I saw three small figures. The weird thing I noticed was that they looked to be the same height as me. As I approached, I was able to get a whiff of their conversation, it seemed that Reiner was talking heatedly to the other two "Also getting the Jaws back isn't a good idea anyway." He said, "what if that Titan uses the power of the Jaws to get away, with its speed, there no way our titans could ever catch it without the cart titan around." I couldn't argue with his points, I noticed how fast I could actually go as a titan when I ran here, and I doubt I could be easily caught.

Bertolt was next to reply, he seemed to be recovering from shock "How could anyone learn to use the power of a titan that fast?"

"You saw the lightning before!" Reiner shouted, desperate to make the other warrior understand "that must've been the jaw titan transforming to run away and if we screw up chasing Jaws and use up our titan powers we'll just get eaten."

I decided to make my entrance here, walking up to the tree and leaning up against it, making enough noise to startle the three and get their attention.

They turned towards me, shock on their faces as they quickly noticed the fading titan scars on my face from the recent transformation. "that's likely, considering what I'm assuming just happened back there" I said, keeping my distance from them, putting my hands behind my back and digging the scissors into my palm, ready to transform again if I needed to run away. "running out of stamina in the middle of titan territory would be the last mistake you ever make" I said.

The three warriors were shocked at my appearance, Annie was able to hide her own shock better, but the widening of her eyes was a giveaway and before any of them could move I reacted first. bringing my hands in front of me, showing them that I was prepared to transform if I had too. "so, this is what you look like in person" I said softly "Reiner, Bertolt, Annie" they all flinched when I said their names as if they weren't expecting me to know them at all.

"you already got his memories then?" Annie stated, catching on quicker than her comrades "I'm surprised that you still have your clothing. Most people lose something when they revert back"

"I'm happy that I didn't, it would be rather awkward if I was buck naked" I replied, leaving us in silence. It seemed that none of us wanted to talk to each other, it was awkward.

Finally, I broke the silence "I'm sorry that I ate your friend" I apologized, voice cracking "I don't remember even becoming a titan to be honest. I just remember getting ready for the day and then waking up in the body of a decaying titan."

"It never should've happened," Annie said looking at Reiner with hostility "if he hadn't been a coward then maybe Marcel wouldn't be dead" she made Reiner look even more guilty and shocked, it didn't seem like he was able to think clearly let alone form a response. When he did move to speak Annie suddenly and violently kicked him in the jaw. I didn't even see her move, it just happened, and I saw a flash of memories again.

* * *

_All of us were talking together, happy and full of camaraderie as we were just told that we would be selected for the mission to Paradis. Reiner started poking fun at my brother for not getting chosen as a warrior for Marley and inheriting the power of a titan. "You little!" Porco shouted as he lunged at Reiner and I intercepted the blow, stopping Porco from striking Reiner._

"_Porco," I said, "Are you disobeying the army's decision?" I asked him, making my brother tear up and making me feel worse for my brother because my manipulation made him cry. I led him away softly, turning back to Reiner before we left "Sorry Reiner" I said Apologizing for Porco's attitude on the outside while at the same time apologizing for my own._

* * *

I moved before I could stop myself, again I was being led by Marcel's memories as I put myself between Reiner and Annie. "Stop that" I ordered, sounding less like myself and for like my predecessor. "it doesn't matter if he was a coward. What happened, happened and we cannot change it." I spoke heatedly managing to get Annie to stop and letting Reiner stand up.

I understood them, if they went back empty-handed and having lost the Jaw titan then they would most likely die. And since I wasn't going to go back with them just to die, I knew they were in a bad situation no matter which way you looked at it.

I've read the manga; I know about Marley and I know what it's like behind the walls but at the end of the day I had thirteen years left to live now, that thought alone was simultaneously freeing and terrifying. It meant that I had to pick a side if I tried to do it as Ymir did then there was a big chance that I would end up the same way. there would come a day when I had to get eaten but it was going to be at the end of my thirteen years and not a day earlier. I would survive, no matter what, no matter who stood in my way and no matter what I did. I was going to live and if that meant that I would have to pick a side, then I would rather pick a side that wouldn't chain me to a floor and shout for my dissection. I would rather fight with people who knew what I was and could, at the end of the day empathize with me. Then there was the Rumbling, like it or not there were more people outside the walls then in them and if the rumbling were to happen many more people would die compared to how many would have to die in the walls.

Even if it meant letting so many people die, if I could survive for just one more day then I could live with that.

'_whoever is watching' _I thought to myself '_forgive me for what I'm going to help do.'_

"Let me help," I said making the warriors freeze in their tracks "Look I have Marcel's memories, if you go back having failed your mission then you'll die, and I'm not going back to Marley without a fight so let's work together. Let me atone for what I did by helping you get whatever it is your trying to get" I said aloud, forced to lie about how much knowledge I had.

Reiner had walked around me, moving back to Annie and Bertolt before they turned away having a quiet conversation but at a few points they seemed to actually be arguing rather than talking, they were probably weighing whether or not they should try to bring me back to Marley but I was counting on Reiner wanting to finish the mission.

Eventually, it seemed like Reiner won the argument. They finished their talk and turned back towards me "ok" Bertolt was the one to speak, his timid and quiet voice in deep contrast to his friends earlier attitude.

"Alright," I said, "What's your plan?"

"W-well, we need to get to the wall, and we were going to use the Jaw titan and Female Titan to get there," Reiner said as if he was asking me for approval.

'_shit is he associating me with Marcel or something' _I thought worriedly before looking over in a random direction " I'm going to assume that I'm the Jaw titan, and besides it's too dangerous to have a conversation here, so let's use the female titan to start with and you can fill me in before we switch" I suggested and since the plan was solid enough they agreed.

When Annie transformed I was more than a little nervous, watching her kill so many people in both the Anime and Manga made it unsettling to look at her in this form but I ignored that feeling once she picked the three of us up and put us at her neck, Bertolt took out a rope and tied it around her throat like a collar to give us something to hold onto while she ran and it was at that moment when I began to process that I was younger. For some reason, I was no longer my nineteen-year-old self but instead I was twelve like the rest of them surprisingly I didn't feel very unsettled by this considering everything else that happened, an age change wasn't really that bad. I just moved on and focused on the briefing both Reiner and Bertolt were trying to give me.

My job was not only to help Annie get them to the wall, but it was also to guard Bertolt after he had transformed since he had a much longer cooldown time before he could do it again unlike other shifters.

"Your Titan is called the Jaws" Bertolt said loud enough for me to hear him over the sound of Annie's titan form as she ran "it's the smallest but it's also the fastest and with its claws and strong jaw it has powerful attacks. With both the speed and attack strength you can move around the battlefield quickly and attack targets with speed and precision."

* * *

_I moved, quickly jumping at the armored vehicle and brought down one of my hands as I moved, destroying the target and sending bits of metal and flesh in all directions._

* * *

I nodded, agreeing with his assessment after that rush of memories "So that's why it has face armor" I said playing along with what he was saying "it probably has intense biting power if the name is anything to go by".

Bertolt nodded "yeah, Exactly."

I didn't know how long we were moving for but eventually Reiner looked up at Annie, checking for something and when I looked up I noticed it as well, she had an excess amount of steam coming from her mouth and her face looked more haggard, like there was less muscle on it. "Switch!" Reiner called out making Annie stop and letting us get down. once she had placed us on the ground I ran off, making some space between everyone and grabbing my Scissors and pressing the blade to my palm.

Before Annie could leave her Titan, I cut my palm, it was easier to do this time and I felt the energizing sensation as my titan body formed. This time I didn't really need to acclimate to the new form, I was already able to move around and thanks to my Titans size they were all able to climb on themselves, using my beard as a kind of rope and holding onto my long hair to keep themselves balanced.

Annie, however, was tired, and I had to help her up with my hand, giving her to Reiner and letting him help hold her in place within my hair.

Once they were secure, I took off running in the same direction Annie was heading before, careful not to knock any of my passengers off, even so, I was able to move quickly despite having to be careful, especially with Annie, considering how exhausted she was I had to be more aware of her position.

This was the longest I had been in my titan form and it showed as I felt a start to get sore and stiff. It was like intensely exercising for a long time and feeling the same burn you would feel but it was weird for me, considering that my human body hadn't moved at all and yet it was feeling a strain. Nevertheless, I pushed on, I wanted to give Annie as much time as possible to recover and I wasn't going to complain about a bit of soreness in my muscles.

The longer I kept running, the stronger Annie's grip became while I found it harder to keep moving. I must have been at it for maybe an hour, maybe a little more by the time Reiner called a switch. I tried to pull myself out of my Titan, but I found it more difficult than last time, my sore muscles and fatigue making it harder for me to wrench free. It was then I felt arms slide under my armpits and pull me out "Thanks" I said reactively.

"No problem" I heard Bertolt say as he let me stand up on my own just as Annie transformed with a flash of lightning and picked us up, giving me time to rest while still making our way to the wall. "Annie!" Reiner Shouted "Scream!"

It was the only warning I got and I was just barely able to cover my ears before the female titan screeched and it was the loudest noise I had ever heard if I wasn't able to heal any damage then I'm sure that I would have lost some amount of my hearing ability but I'd heard that scream before.

Annie was summoning titans.

"There!" Bertolt Called out "The wall!" he was pointing but it didn't matter, the colossal stone structures were difficult to miss considering how tall they were. Looking at them, I truly began to appreciate just how tall both it and the Colossal titan were in a way that just can't happen from behind a screen or on paper.

"Alright, Annie switch with me!" Reiner called as we quickly switched from being on Annie's shoulders to being on Reiner's. His Armoured titan was slower, but we got to the gates quickly and a part of me was surprised that we hadn't been seen. He put Bertolt on the ground and hurried to give us distance before another massive lightning strike brought the Colossal titan into existence.

The fall of Shiganshina had begun and I helped start it.


	2. Chapter 2

I think the screaming was the worst part.

No amount of show watching could ever have prepared me for the level of noise and chaos I could hear from the other side of the wall. I didn't know if there were hundreds or thousands of people, but their screaming seemed to combine together into one loud orchestra of terror, and it was the most horrible and terrifying sound I had ever heard. But it just didn't seem to click in my head, I didn't feel guilt, shame or any other kind of emotion related to them. Sure, I knew it was a horrible thing and that the people down there were innocent and didn't deserve such a painful and gruesome death, but I was still numb to the whole thing. Maybe it was some kind of psychological defense mechanism like Reiner's split personality just not taken to that kind of extreme. Or maybe I was simply too exhausted to put myself through that kind of emotional response.

As it stood, I couldn't really move well, having transformed twice in a row and possibly a third time before I woke up was putting a huge strain on my body and it was seriously a struggle for me to even move. Reiner was Climbing up the side of the wall, having already snatched Bertolt up from the remains of the colossal titan, Bertolt had his arm underneath my armpit again, ensuring that I didn't fall of Reiner's shoulder in my weakened state. As we got closer to the top of the wall the sounds of destruction, panic, and terror became louder and louder, as if the walls themselves were acting like some kind of nightmarish amplifier.

Once we reached the top, Reiner carefully grabbed the three of us and softly placed everyone on the stone surface, once he ensured our safety, he vaulted off the side and headed into Shiganshina district and making a beeline for the inner gate. Even though I knew there were people down there, people who were innocent of any crime thought up by Marley I still couldn't bring myself to care about them, or even mourn their passing because I knew that if the walls walked even once there would be no one left to survive, it didn't matter if you were inside the walls or outside them you would be dead just like everyone else. If I had to choose between a small island nation of ignorant people or a world of many nations with different cultures and histories, I know I would choose the one with the larger amount of people. Because I only had thirteen years left to live and I would rather fight on the side of those who would chain me up like an animal and beat me for speaking.

the curse of Ymir only intensified that desire to survive no matter the cost, because I was going to live those thirteen years to completion, no matter the consequences and If I have to bathe in the blood of thousands of men, woman, and children, then so be it.

Slowly, I forced myself up, my muscles protesting loudly at the movement, but I was being fuelled with new resolve, a resolve to survive no matter what. Making it into a relatively comfortable sitting position I shifted my focus to my two 'comrades' I didn't know how they felt about me being here, they didn't seem all that bothered by my presence but there was a sense of awkwardness between us. I think they knew I couldn't control myself as a pure titan and tried not to hold my actions against me, but it would take time for them to acquiesce to my presence on the 'team'. Bertolt was looking into the city below, the high position giving him a good view of the destruction he had caused while Annie wasn't paying it any attention, instead, she was looking further into wall Maria. But I could see a glimpse of pain on her face it was subtle, but I noticed it. at the end of the day, they were still children and even though I had the body of a child too I still possessed the maturity of a young adult; I could handle the psychological backlash if there was any, but I don't think they could. Not properly at least, "Are you two ok?" I asked, genuinely concerned for their wellbeing.

Bertolt jumped a little, waking up from whatever trance he and been in before. turning towards me he gave a very bad smile, trying to hide his shock "Yeah, I'll be fine" he said, his voice cracking and from that slight tone change, I could tell that he won't be as fine as he thought he would be.

Annie didn't reply as fast as Bertolt did, she seemed to be keeping her focus on the horizon and away from the chaos behind her. "we should move inwards, move to the next wall in titan form or join up with whatever evacuation they have going on down there" she pointed to the riverside, bringing our attention to a series of boats, lined up on the bank. People were trying to push their way in panic and trying there hardest to escape while whatever soldiers posted there tried to keep everything orderly.

"Shouldn't we wait for Reiner?" I said.

Before Annie could reply there was a massive booming noise and the sound of stone, wood and all kinds of rubble falling down and smashing into everything around it. the three of us knew that it was Reiner, only he would be able to make that kind of noise. "I think he'll come back up here to us and once he does, we can escape to together," I said, voicing my assumptions on Reiner's next move.

"Yeah," Bertolt said, "He would be in the best position to get us down".

My assumptions were correct, Reiner did turn around and climb back up to the wall so he could retrieve us. Again, I found myself lying on his collarbone as he jumped off the wall and onto the ground within Shiganshina.

Being on the ground like this was something that made me anxious, the fact that there were so many titans around us coupled with the fact that I couldn't transform made me feel so vulnerable, which meant that I had to put my trust in Reiner's armor as he covered us with his armored fingers. Running through the streets and back towards the hole he had made in the inner gates.

Because he had covered us with his hands, we were safe from any prying eyes and all any onlooker could see was the Armoured Titan running through the hole and into the interior of wall rose. It was only when we left the wall when I decided I could let down my guard, exhaustion getting the better of me at last and I finally dropped into unconsciousness.

* * *

_I was standing just to the side, next to Pieck who seemed to have less stamina than before. Zeke was in _

_front of us, leaning against a tree as he regained his composure. "Did you guys know?" he said, his back turned towards us "They say they'll be attacking Paradis in just a few years in just a few more years. The time has come for us to inherit the Titans." _

_Every one of us gave him our undivided attention as he spoke but Reiner seemed to be more transfixed than anyone else. "The war with the south will be over soon and the time for us to become warriors is approaching."_

_The war in the south, it was the reason why the current warriors except for the beast were all away. They were all fighting for Marley, but apparently, the beast wasn't useful to the military in this specific war._

_Zeke continued talking as my thoughts were focused on the end of the war. "I've heard they'll be reorganizing the warrior unit as a part of the army's new structure, out of us seven warrior candidates, six will be made warriors all at once."_

_That was shocking news to me, Marley had always waited until the current warrior's term was over, in fact, the current Armour and Cart still had about five years left on their term. They would have to give it up really early._

"_I did it," Reiner said to himself, but it was still loud enough for all of us to hear "now I can become a Marleyan."_

_Porco was closest to him and seemed to pounce on the opportunity to taunt him "huh?" my brother said as he stood next to Reiner "you didn't do anything. You're obviously the weakest in the group so if one person is getting left behind it's you." _

_Reiner turns his head towards Porco "What was that" he said after a moment's hesitation._

"_What are you good at?" Porco asked "Are you strong? Smart? A good shot? A good fighter?" he directed Reiner's attention to each of us "Your none of those, are you? What they saw in you was the loyalty to Marley you displayed in the written part of the test, wasn't it?" My little brother turned away slightly "I respect you for that." What he had just said might've been seen as nice, but I could tell my brother was going to flip that statement on its head "You make sure to lick the captain's boots every single day. 'yes, sir I promise to kill all those island devils, sir'." He started imitating Reiner's voice as he quoted one of the many things the boy had said._

_That seemed to set Reiner off though as he got right up in Porco's face. Porco lurched back as Reiner almost headbutted him "Don't you know who's on that island? Devils who've brought fear to the entire world!" he began shouted in my little brother's face which really unsettled Porco "It only a matter of time until they start slaughtering again unless we kill them! Are you insulting our mission?!" _

"_Whoa" was Porco's only way to answer as he tried to back up and put space between himself and Reiner. _

"_Or are you one of the remaining Eldian restorationists who support __**KING FRITZ?!**__" I began moving over to Reiner, to try to get him to cool off "Admit it! I know it's true! __**I'LL REPORT YOU TO THE CAPTAIN!**__" _

_Those words were the final straw as Porco viciously slammed his fist into Reiner's head with enough force to send him crashing onto the ground "Porco Stop!" I said as I ran up behind him, putting my arm under his and pulling him away from Reiner as Porco shouted at him. _

_Once he was away from Reiner, he turns on his heel and began following Zeke "Let's go!" he said to me as he stormed off_

"_Sorry Reiner…" I said as I followed my brother._

* * *

As I slowly returned to consciousness, I immediately noticed that my muscles were no longer sore, stretching them out reflexively confirmed it. I guessed that the regeneration aspect of the power of the Titans came in handy.

I sat up slowly, using my arms for support as I looked around at what seemed to be an old almost dilapidated warehouse, mats made of straw and cloth were strewn about the place to be used as some kind of improvised bedding and people of all ages were both sitting and standing in different places of the room. Their faces were expressing different states of emotion, some had denial, others had shocked and one, in particular, had anger strewn on his face.

But before I could look any further, I felt a hand on my shoulder, turning I saw Bertolt, Annie, and Reiner sitting on their own mats as well. "You're awake," he said as he let his hand fall back to his knees "how are you feeling?"

"Alright" I replied, stretching my arm to work out any kinks "must've done it three times, two at most so I'm surprised I was awake for as long as I was." I didn't say 'transform' or anything similar because of the people around us but Bertolt, Annie, and Reiner would be able to get the meaning.

"I'm surprised you took to it so quickly," Annie said, her expression of calm never faltering "it was almost as quickly as Marcel did."

As she said the name of my predecessor, I felt a tense feeling of awkwardness wash over our group, I fidgeted for a second, looking down at the ground as I thought about what to say, "do you resent me?" I asked, "for what I did?"

"I don't know," Bertolt said, curling in further " I don't think you wanted to eat anyone so I don't know if I can hate you."

"I agree," Annie said, "you had no control over yourself so in a way you're not really responsible for Marcel." She cocked her head to the side as if figuring something out "You know we never got your name?"

"My names Felix rose," I said before checking on Reiner, I wanted to see exactly what he'd say since he was the reason why Marcel was eaten. Reiner didn't reply, he was just looking at the floor and he seemed to be deep in thought by the way he was looking. It was like a thousand-yard stare "Are you okay Reiner?" I asked when he didn't start re-focusing on our conversation.

He didn't say a word, instead, he suddenly reached out, coiling his arms around Annie, Bertolt and myself and pulled us into a strong hug. "… I'm sorry" he pulled harder "I…promise to be a true warrior."

The weeks flew by quite quickly after that, we ended up being forced to move further into the walls and towards the center. We didn't want to risk fighting or stealing for any rations and besides its works according to the plan. We could get closer to the center and closer to the royal family and by extension, the Founding Titan.

I, of course, knew that the founder wasn't there but instead was within Eren Yeager, but since I had no evidence to back that up to my comrades, I just went with everyone's plan.

The four of us were currently working on a farm, taking a small break while others continued tending to the fields. It wasn't a permanent job, just something we did to get food while we traveled. Bertolt, Reiner and I were sitting down in front of a small fire. Annie was leaning up against the nearby cottage, having chosen not to sit with us. We all sipped quietly on the tea we made with the fire and sitting with us was an old man, his own cup in his hand and a permanent expression of shock on his face.

"My village…was located in the mountains in the southeast wall Maria." He mumbled just loud enough for only the four of us to hear. "Unlike the thriving towns by the river…it took time for us to hear that the wall had been breached." I carefully kept my features schooled, silently thanking my years in Drama class for my ability to hide my feelings on the matter. "In fact" he continued his voice becoming monotone like he was just reading from a script "the first we heard of it was from the Titans." Bertolt focused on his cup as if it was the most interesting thing in the world right now while Reiner showed no visible reaction as the man continued talking "it was around dawn, the livestock got awfully noisy… then a strange rumbling came from the ground, and it only got louder." I knew what he was going to say, it was easy to tell what that rumbling was going to be "I realized it was foot-steps, so I rushed to open the windows." He paused, as if he was still trying to formulate his next words or to process through the memories "I can't recall anything after that but I'd escaped on my horse somehow" looking us slowly he seemed to be looking at us more strongly, as if trying to figure something out "I left behind three kids who were just about your age."

Unfortunately, it wasn't until the next day did the four of us understand that the man was telling us his final words. Everyone had grouped around, looking at his swinging corpse as he hung from the tree, eyes still open with that same look on his face. "wasn't he the only survivor from that one village" someone whispered as they looked at him.

"what village?" someone else asked.

"Oh, I forgot that name," the first person said, "it was that tiny settlement right, the one that wasn't even on the map?"

"where he's from we should cut him down," a man said as he began to approach the corpse. The four of us didn't stick around for much longer, choosing to leave the area and find another place to work that was further in the center.

"oh… so that King Fritz was just a figurehead" Bertolt said.

"Not just the old man. It's a different family entirely, they're all puppets without a shred of authority." Reiner said "But they're probably not subjects of Ymir. The people ruling from the center of the wall are probably a different race of Eldian who sucked up to Fritz a century ago". Reiner shoved a wooden pole into a fallen tree stump while I swing at the roots with an axe, chipping away at the dead roots easily because of how dry and dead they were. "There was no need for the power of the founding titan, so he must have given them authority in exchange for their silence and loyalty?"

I paused for a moment standing up straighter "Then we need to get inside that family." I said, "if we do then we can have a shot at the founder, or at the very least learning something about it."

Annie turned around "how do we do that?" she asked. "do we get them to hire us as servants or something? Or do you want me to get close to one of the men in the family and marry into it?"

Before I could share my own disgust Bertolt interrupted me "No! You can't do that!"

Annie wasn't perturbed by Bertolt's shout, her expression of boredom never leaving her face for a second "right I can't." she said they're able to stay in the seat of power because they aren't subject of Ymir. They'd never risk infecting their family tree with tainted blood and ever since the wall was breached, they haven't hired new servants out of concern about invaders." She paused inclining her head slightly towards the ground. "plus, I don't have the charm to seduce a man."

"That's not true!" Bertolt interrupted again.

I couldn't help but let myself chuckle at Bertolt "Smooth" I said softly as I began to attack the stump again with the axe.

"that means we only have one opening," Reiner said as he motioned with his head to move out of the way. I moved to the side and he began to push upwards with the wooden pole "Become soldiers and get close to the interior military police."

We all paused; silence was the only thing we heard as everyone looked at Reiner. Eventually, Annie replied, "I know you don't want to hear this form me but its taken us two years to learn this much."

Reiner talked next "and we've spent that time uprooting trees. You're the only one who's able to enter and exit the royal capital."

"we only have ten years left." Annie said making my thoughts go back to the Curse of Ymir "eleven in Felix's case" my limited life span was always in the back of my mind; it was in my subconsciousness and it honestly could drive me insane if I was left alone with those thoughts. "and you're saying you want us to spend those ten years playing soldier?"

"It been two years since the wall was breached but the King of the walls never made a move." Reiner said, "if the Tybur family's information is correct then the king is bound by some kind of vow to renounce war."

"in that case we should stop wasting time and put an end to this" Annie replied, bringing her arms up in exasperation.

Reiner didn't look up at he though, choosing to continue looking at the ground. "So you mean destroying wall rose and Sheena too?" everyone stiffened when Reiner made the suggestion "yes, doing that might cause the Founding titan to show himself but you realize that no matter how defeated they may be, one roar from the founder can turn everything around right?" he asked "and then we precious warriors will die with the rest of the world, our mission incomplete" he tugged harder on the wood "Humanity's fate is riding on us, so, we can only march forward. The stump began to creak and break as the soil was lifted first. "that is what were here for!" he practically screamed as the stump was violently ripped from the ground and sent forwards onto the soil.


End file.
